Three reasons why starting small businesses exporting products is hot

There has been growing appeal to selling export products from the UK globally, especially since the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games drew the world’s attention to the country. If you are an individual exporter, particularly running a small and medium enterprise (SME), you stand to reap major business benefits by pursuing overseas trade opportunities. Here are some reasons why you should seriously think about starting small businesses exporting products to overseas markets.

More profitability

A 2013 survey of 2,200 small businesses in the UK conducted by freelancer.co.uk found that there has been a 42% increase in the number of small businesses selling their products online. Significantly, perhaps, is that the figure indicated there has been a 36% increase in the number of small businesses selling their products overseas.

The report confirms what many are only now beginning to appreciate – starting small businesses exporting products is hot business that can double or even treble your business revenue potential. Exporting products opens up new markets for small businesses, making them more profitable. If you can make better use of this opportunity, you too can achieve exponential growth in your business.

Ready international market

There is a ready market for British products overseas. In fact, British products are associated with quality and luxury, which makes them highly desirable globally. The “Made in Britain” label, for example, is quite desirable in the fashion world with UK heritage brands like Barbour, Burberry and Mulberry being hot fashion commodities internationally.

Moreover, emerging economies like Brasil, India and South Africa already have a seemingly insatiable demand for export products, such as agricultural processing equipment, IT products and services and computers. Brasil, in particular, is currently one of the world’s largest IT markets now that it is investing heavily in infrastructure development for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic games.

Government support

The UK government recognises that more than half of its economic growth is driven by businesses that trade internationally. For this reason, the government supports SMEs to establish thriving international businesses through initiatives like the Trade Investment (UKTI) that has international offices and attractive funding opportunities. Visit the UKTI website to learn more about government funding and other support programmes at ukti.gov.uk.

Remember by starting small businesses exporting products you’ll not only help yourself be more profitable and achieve international success, but also improve the quality of life for the UK population as a whole.